


Fight Me

by punkjerk



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captain America AU, M/M, basically just dumb fluff, i don't know how to describe this really, i guess it's like preserum steve and prewar bucky as patient and nurse in the 21st century
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 15:45:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5791336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkjerk/pseuds/punkjerk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is notorious at his local hospital for having the worst, and also best, luck when it comes to getting sick. He's known the names of all the nurses who've been taking care of him since he was in middle school. But when he comes down with pneumonia, there's a new pretty face around, and he wants to know it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fight Me

**Author's Note:**

> this was based off of this text post (http://officialcadbane.tumblr.com/post/121299145514/ohsebs-ohsebs-ohsebs-my-nurse-just-came-in) because it seemed like a stevebucky thing and i wanted to write it. and forgive me, for i do not make frequent hospital visits, nor have i ever had pneumonia. i tried to do a bit of research, but let me know if there's anything i can do to make it more accurate. enjoy!

Steve had insisted it was just a cough.

  
Unfortunately, his mother had known that _“just a cough”_ had always evolved into something so much more serious (i.e. a sinus infection, influenza, bronchitis, etc.) that she hadn’t hesitated to bring him into the hospital when it started to get worse.

Steve was no stranger to the hospital by now, and the receptionist greeted the two like old friends as Sarah Rogers sat her son down in a chair before going to sign in. Now, Steve was certainly old enough to take care of himself, late 20s and all, but with his medical history, it only took one cough during a phone call to his mom to land him in the hospital again. His mom did not take risks with her son’s health.

It wasn’t long before a nurse had called them in (Steve assumed he was something of a priority now, and not in the best way). They’d asked him the usual questions, and they went quickly as he had become fairly comfortable with the nurses over the years and they knew most of the generic stuff already. They did some preliminary testing and finally decided to keep him overnight just to watch how he was doing. Steve understood that with his red-zone asthma they just couldn’t risk anything. So they set him up in a room and gave him blankets and some medicine to help ease the cough.

Now, a few hours after he’d been admitted, Steve was simply not feeling good. He knew his mom was right to take him in when the chills started, despite being covered by at least five blankets. And he was simply not in the mood for anything but sleep, which refused to arrive peacefully.

After a few hours of uncomfortably shifting he turned up the dimmer in the room and called for a nurse to see if there was anything they could give him to help him get to sleep. A few minutes later one of the on-duty nurses walked through the door and Steve could’ve sworn he heard his heart monitor skip a beat.

Now, Steve had been at this hospital since he was in his preteen years. He could’ve recited to you all of their names at the drop of a hat, but this one he was certain he’d never met before. He would’ve remembered a jawline that could cut through him, and eyes so blue he was fairly certain he might drown in them (if his lungs didn’t do that for him first). The man must have been nearly a foot taller than him, broad shoulders shielding most of the light from the hallway as he stood in front of the doorway. As he stepped further into the room, Steve could make out the smile playing on his lips and he felt his face warm up despite the chills.

“Steve Rogers? You called?” The nurse looked over Steve’s chart as he spoke, deep and smooth with an enticing confidence Steve knew he’d never have, pulling him in further.

Steve caught himself staring and coughed, breaking the silence.

“I uh, can’t get to sleep, and I was wondering if there was anything you could give me to help with that.”

The nurse smiled lightly, and Steve was trying to catch a glimpse of a nametag on his scrubs, but it seemed to be covered in the folds. “Sure thing, I’ll be back in a minute.”

Steve watched him leave the room before dissolving into a blushing heap under the blankets, his breathing heavy and his heartbeat erratic. He was just getting comfortable when the nurse returned with a soft knock on the door to announce his return.

“Steve?” he called softly.

“Yeah I’m still awake. I did just ask for sleeping medicine right?” Steve’s voice came, muffled from under the blankets.

“Alright, alright, no need to get feisty,” the nurse laughed, amused. “C’mon, sit up so I can give it to you.”

Typically, Steve would have complied without comment, especially when it came to the precious few hours of sleep he could grab. And of course, how could he think to say no to the nurse’s sweet, sweet voice? But his whole body was aching with dull pain and he had finally gotten comfortable and maybe it was just embarrassment from meeting this insanely attractive person while he felt and looked his worst but he did _not_ want to move. And if Steve was anything besides sick, he was stubborn. So instead, he let out a fairly annoyed grumble and pulled the blankets further over his head.

“C’mon Steve, it’ll just take a second, then you can get to sleep.” The nurse sighed next to him.

Steve took another few moments to groan dramatically before scooting up the bed a little further, just enough to take the medicine from the nurse.

“Fight me,” Steve mumbled, as he slouched back down under the covers.

“Maybe some other time, Rogers.” The nurse chuckled and Steve heard him exit the room; the light in his room dimmed again as Steve let the medicine tug him into sleep.

***

Steve woke up groggy and feeling like an elephant was sitting on his head, but at least he had slept. The sun was shining in through the window adjacent to him, making his eyes burn with the brightness. He began coughing immediately.

He turned to his right and saw the gorgeous nurse from last night checking his monitors. Steve coughed and spit up some phlegm into the container near his bed before turning back to the nurse who smiled. _Real attractive, Rogers_ , he scolded himself.

“Morning sunshine,” The nurse smiled brightly and the room got even brighter, if at all possible. Steve was actually squinting. In the morning light he was finally able to read the name tag on the nurse: James Barnes.

“Mornin’, Barnes.” Steve drawled, not really processing his words through the haze of illness.

The nurse laughed. “Just call me Bucky, almost everyone does. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” Steve tried laughing but ended up coughing again. He coughed for a solid minute and when he finally stopped, he wheezed in and out, trying to catch his breath. A pressure erupted in his chest, and he felt the inklings of panic well up in his gut. He turned to face the nurse – Bucky – as he struggled to get the words out.

“Can’t… breathe…” Steve wheezed out, coughing intensely while the panic built up inside of him. Bucky rushed to get his inhaler. Steve, focused on his breathing, only subconsciously realising how nice Bucky’s face looked this close to his as Bucky helped him with the inhaler. After a few pumps, Bucky pulled back and observed his response to the emergency inhaler. Steve’s breathing had slowed down and his wheeze faded, but Bucky’s close proximity was making his heart's pace increase involuntarily, which Steve could tell Bucky noticed on the monitor. Steve sighed as Bucky went to go prepare the peak flow test. After that, Bucky hooked him up to the nebuliser.

“I’ll be back in a bit, I gotta go check in with your doctor. If she thinks you’re getting better we can set up that fight,” Bucky winked and Steve felt his face heat up as he vaguely remembered what he’d said to the nurse last night.

Steve couldn’t help but wonder how this had happened to him. Here was the most attractive guy he’d laid eyes on in months and he was gross and exhausted and sick with whatever. He groaned at his luck.

About twenty minutes later, his doctor walked into the room.

“Steve, we’ve analysed all the tests and information we’ve gathered and have concluded that you have pneumonia. Now, with your state of asthma, this is a fairly serious concern for us, and we’re going to recommend that you stay in the hospital for at least five more nights, potentially more, so we can be here to monitor your health and ensure that you return to your normal life fully recovered. Nurse Barnes here,” the doctor gestured to the man beside her, who shot Steve a toothy grin, “has been assigned to watch over you for the rest of your stay. If you need something, don’t hesitate to call, we’ll be here for you ‘round the clock. I’ll come back and check on you later in the day.”

“Thanks,” Steve said, holding back the heat flooding into his cheeks at the thought of seeing Bucky so often throughout his stay. He gave the doctor a small, but genuine smile which she returned as she exited the room. He dropped it once she’d gone and turned back to Bucky, who was already watching him (not exactly helping the heat in his cheeks). Steve coughed lightly, feeling the pangs in his chest as he did.

“Right, well, I have to make a few rounds with some other patients, I’ll come back to check in on you when I can, and I’ll try to come around for dinner.” Bucky said, and Steve tried not to let his face fall. It wasn’t that he was sad, particularly, just he would’ve liked to spend more time with the guy. A little difficult when he didn’t feel like doing anything for the rest of the day but he couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed. “I’m sure you know what to do if you need anything - so don’t hesitate to call, doll,” Bucky smiled cheekily and then left the room.

***

By the time night had rolled around, Steve had stumbled his way through an all-day marathon of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, just because he could. He wasn’t entirely sure why he endured that, but honestly, he was feeling too shitty to care. His new favourite nurse hadn’t come back, and dinner had already come and passed. His mom had stopped by earlier in the day to bring flowers with balloons _(I’m not a kid anymore, Mom)_ and check up on her son. Some of the other nurses whom he was friendly with had come in to check on him too and give him his medicine and all of that, but Bucky’s absence was making him feel like his day was incomplete. He was frustrated that he’d gotten attached to the guy so quickly, yet he couldn’t seem to curb the feelings. Overall, he was just miserable. If he’d thought having every muscle in his body ache with illness was bad, he didn’t imagine that his heart being in pain could be ten times worse. He knew he was being dramatic, but he couldn’t help it. He was feeling shitty already, and now he was pining, apparently, and he unapologetically wanted the beautiful man back in his field of vision. So instead, he mindlessly watched the TV until he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Steve woke the next morning, feeling only marginally better. But when he turned to his side, he saw Bucky resting on one of the hospital chairs in an uncomfortable-looking position, snoring ever so lightly. Steve was worried his heart rate might cross into a concerning zone as thoughts raced through his mind like  _oh my God, he is just the fucking cutest thing how does someone even do that while sleeping?_ Steve had caught himself staring again and forced himself to reach over and nudge the nurse on the shoulder lightly to wake him up. Once he started to stir, Steve slunk back under the blankets again, keeping his eyes on Bucky. His annoyance from the previous day resurfacing as Bucky worked his way back into reality, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Once Bucky had regained his senses, he stretched and turned to face Steve, who was now reduced to a pair of narrowed eyes peeking out from underneath the covers.

Bucky mumbled out a “shit” as he covered his face and groaned into his hands. He manoeuvred himself out of the chair and tried to fix his wrinkled uniform.

“Shit, shit, shit, I’m sorry Steve. I know I said I’d be back but yesterday everything that could have gone wrong did, I swear I thought the universe was trying to keep us apart. Some old man got his bedpan stuck, don’t even ask me how, a kid swallowed at least three paperclips, and this one old lady would not stop hitting on me, saying I looked like her husband or something, and that all happened like within an hour after I said goodbye. The rest of the day was even worse you have no idea–”

Steve couldn’t help but smile as Bucky was pacing the room animatedly, waving his hands all around and running them through his hair, he just wouldn’t shut up, as if Steve would be able to remain annoyed at him. Honestly, it was just petty anyways. God was he adorable trying to apologise so desperately, but Steve had to interject or he was afraid Bucky might never stop. He pushed the blankets away from his face.

“Hey,” he started, but it came out weak and inaudible. He cleared his throat, “Hey! Hey, it’s okay, jeez, you’d think you’d accidentally killed a man or somethin’. No need to worry, the only thing that you missed was the Kardashians gradually getting intolerably boring over the course of the day.” Steve tried to smile nicely at him.

Bucky slowed down and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I may have noticed that when I finally came in around 3am,” He carefully sat down in the chair near Steve’s bed. “Wanted to see how you were doing, but you’d already knocked out, and the TV was on and boy was it a long day, and I just – well – ended up here, just ‘cause I wanted to bug ya. Didn't think you'd mind if I switched the channel.” He smiled playfully and ran his hand through his hair again.

Steve grinned mischievously. “You come into _my_ room, and mess with  _my_ TV? Well then, you can fight me, Barnes.”

Bucky just laughed wholeheartedly before he smiled so bright that Brooklyn wouldn’t need another energy source for the next week. “Let me go get us some breakfast so I can make sure you win.” He was still grinning as he got up and saluted Steve before leaving the room, Steve’s eyes following him like he was the last glimpse of sunlight he’d see for decades.

***

It had been about five days since his admittance, and Steve was recovering better than expected, although it had been a hellish week. And although he had been ecstatic at the news of his release the following morning, there was a seed of dread building up in the pit of his stomach as well.

Since the morning of the Kardashian marathon Bucky had hardly left Steve’s side, he practically waited on him hand and foot. He cared as if they’d been married in another lifetime. Bucky was so easy with simply everything. He made Steve laugh until he was nearly choking, he was genuinely concerned for his health, and he always seemed riveted with whatever Steve talked about, from art to the weather that day. Most nights Bucky stayed until Steve had fallen asleep and he was always the first thing Steve saw every morning when he woke up.

Steve had gone from being enchanted by the nurse’s dashing looks to developing a full-blown crush on him in less than a week.

Bottom line: he was screwed.

Steve’s phone blinked back the time to him. Bucky was an hour late, and Steve, as much as he tried not to be, was crestfallen. Of course, the man was busy as all hell, and he couldn’t ever dream of blaming him for that, but he hadn’t missed a night since they’d started. Steve had to remind himself it also hadn’t been that long since they’d started and maybe he was just becoming slightly dependent on the man for keeping his spirits up while he was bedridden. Not to mention Steve hadn’t asked for anything to help him sleep since Bucky was there. Steve sighed dejectedly, and turned the TV to the Discovery channel, which Bucky (of course) had gotten him hooked on after he realised hanging out with Steve like he was would include watching the Kardashians (which Steve had really more than just grown on him by now, but he wasn’t going to live through that if he didn’t have to). He turned the volume down so it was nothing more than a hum, some white noise to help him drift into sleep.

He was annoyingly frustrated with his… nurse? acquaintance? friend? Potentially more? He grumbled out a low “you can still fight me, Barnes,” even though he knew no one was around to hear. He hoped the bastard could feel the sentiment, wherever he was.

It took almost another hour for him to finally get to sleep, watching the show as his eyes grew heavier and his breathing slower. And Steve would have sworn that a hand slipped into his just before he fell under into sleep.

***

When he woke up, he could breathe normally for the first time since before he’d been admitted to the hospital. He could actually feel every molecule of oxygen streamlining its way into his lungs. He felt rejuvenated. It had felt like ages since Steve was fully functional. He had been in hospitals for so much of his life, yet he always got so restless not having the freedom to do whatever he wanted and be wherever he wanted to be. He jumped out of bed and stretched as much as he could as soon as the doctors gave him the all clear. Okay, it’s not like he was prisoner to the sheets the whole week, but he could hardly leave his room and he was excited to get back into the world. His mom had come to pick him up, as she’d promised the day before, with a new change of clothes and food from the downstairs cafeteria. Steve was practically buzzing the whole time as he prepared to leave.

After he’d finished changing and freshening up to head back to his apartment, he walked back over to his mom who was waiting for him.

“Ready to go?” She asked, smiling at him.

He grinned. “You have no idea.” His response was immediate, but his smile faltered as he realised he didn’t know when the next time he’d see Bucky would be. In his excitement, he hadn’t registered that his nurse hadn’t even been there when he woke up this morning. He tried to force his smile back up, but his mom didn’t seem to notice anything anyways and handed him his jacket. As he shrugged it on, something on the small nightstand near his bed caught his eye. He looked between his mom and the cup quizzically a few times.

“Mom, what’s that?” he asked, nodding to the cup when she didn’t pick up on the hint. She looked confused and followed his gesture. When she laid eyes on it her face brightened.

“Oh, I’m losing it, I can’t believe I almost forgot! A lovely young nurse came in and said to make sure you get that before you go, and he apologised for not being able to give a proper goodbye, but he was just oh so busy and…” Steve tuned her out after he heard the pronoun ‘he’ and practically stumbled over his own two feet to get to the coffee cup. There was a little note underneath it, and Steve’s whole face just brightened instantly.

_Fight me, sometime?_  
_423 897 6529 ;-)_

“What is it?” Sarah spoke from over her son’s shoulder, watching the grin on his face with a small smile of her own.

Steve quickly shoved the note in the pocket of his jacket and tried to hold his smile down. He turned to face his mom. “Probably nothing. Maybe something wonderful. I’ll let you know soon,” he grinned devilishly at his mom as he took a sip of the coffee and sighed contentedly. Apparently Bucky had remembered that one time Steve had let slip how he liked his coffee during one of their chats (seriously, Rogers? That was first date stuff).

Sarah just smiled gleefully and knowingly as she escorted her son out of the hospital, thanking the staff on their way out since Steve’s brain had clouded over in a daydream.

***

Steve didn’t call the number until late the next evening. It was a Saturday night and he was still adjusting to getting back into his routine before being admitted. After all, he did have to return to work again on Monday.

And, okay, he’ll admit he was slightly apprehensive. More like I-could-puke-at-the-thought-of-it type anxious, and he was finding every excuse to delay as long as possible.  
So he called his mom instead. She picked up almost instantly.

“Stevie!” she called down the line, “How are you doing?”

“Fine, Mom, I feel great,” he said, which wasn’t a lie. He genuinely was feeling so much better.

“Good, good, have you called that cute nurse yet?” Steve faltered, choking slightly on the water he was drinking as she asked the question. He took a moment to clear his throat.

“God Mom, you sound like Natasha. How do you even know about that?” Steve said, not one to favour lying to his own mother.

“Oh, please, I know the expressions of two people ready to fall in love with each other. Your face when I started telling you who left the cup, plus the nurse’s face as he left it, well, that was a sight to see. I haven’t seen your face that bright since I told you that we could send you to art school. Now that, was love.” She cooed at him. “Also, I may or may not have glimpsed the numbers on the note as he dropped it off. I haven’t lost everything yet, you know.”

Steve was certain his mom could feel the blush emanating off of his face. “Yeah, yeah, okay, I like him. I haven’t called him yet, though.” The nervousness crept back into his tone.

“Sweetie, there’s a reason he left you the number – clearly he wanted you to call it. And there’s no time like the present. I saw both of your faces and let me make it clear that if you don’t call him soon, I will call him myself and set up the date for you.”

“Woah, okay, okay, I’ll do it!” Steve chuckled. He had to get his mischievousness from somewhere, right?

“Alright, I have to go finish up some work, I’ll talk to you later. Call that nurse, okay Steve? I think he’s good for you. Take care, I love you!” She called through the phone.

“Night, Mom, love you too.” Steve was smiling as he hung up the phone. With his heart suddenly pounding against his chest, and before he could second guess himself again, he dialled the phone number on the note from heart (he’d been staring at it for a day now and had subconsciously memorised it).

Bucky picked up on the third ring.

“James Barnes,” Bucky’s voice rang down the phone, and immediately Steve felt a calm wash over him.

“Bucky?” Steve called, still a bit apprehensive.

“Steve?”

“Yeah, uh, hi, it’s me,” Steve chuckled.

“Steve! I was worried you hadn’t gotten the note! I told your mom and all but, I wasn’t sure. I was worried that it’d just been thrown out. Anyways, I’m glad you called. How are you?” Bucky asked genuinely, his voice laced with excitement, and Steve’s face heated up again. He could practically hear the smile in Bucky’s voice.

“I’m uh, good, feeling a lot better and getting the hang of my routine again. Being fed all the time really did have its advantages,” Steve joked lightly, feeling more at ease the longer the conversation continued. With Bucky, it was like speaking a language only the two of them knew. “What about you?”

“Glad to hear that. It’s busy here, but I’ve been holding up. Thank god I’ve got tomorrow off, huh. You kept me busy,” Bucky said teasingly.

Steve’s heart froze for a second. This was it, right? This was some goddamn strange sign from the universe, and something told him to jump on the chance to take it. A wave of confidence rushed over him quickly, and before he could stop himself he began.

“Yeah, so, about that fight – I – I mean date – I was thinking maybe you’d like to meet downtown at that little coffee house a block away from the hospital?” Steve bit his lip in agony as his wave of confidence washed away and gave way to embarrassment instead. Had he really just said that? He heard Bucky laughing heartily and his face flushed even more.

“Yeah, I’d love that Steve. Can I meet you there around 2 tomorrow?”

Relief washed over him, and Steve could hear the universe singing for him.

“That would be perfect.”

“Great, then I’ll see you there Rogers. Bring your best weapon.” He could picture Bucky winking in his mind and giggled (fucking giggled).

“You better be ready,” Steve joked. “2 o’clock then?”

“2 o’clock. Now as delighted as I am with your call, I gotta finish up my shift here,” Bucky said.

“Okay, no problem. I’ll see you soon, I suppose.”

“Yes, you will.” And the line clicked off.

Steve held the phone to his ear for a moment longer, living in the space of the miracle that had just occurred. He was involuntarily glowing, soaking up all the good thoughts that rushed to his mind at the idea of the date. Steve hadn’t had a lot of good come from being in hospitals for half his life but _this_ – this felt like it was going to be the best thing he’d ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> i felt kind of rushed to finish this, and i'm not sure how much i like how this turned out, but i hope you enjoyed regardless. feedback is always appreciated, but keep in mind this wasn't a very serious project for me, as i just wanted to test the waters in steve's pov and happier things. i'm still not used to writing fanfiction with characters that aren't my own, and things that aren't sad all the way through i suppose. but still, i think it was good for me, and i hope it's still enjoyable. thank you if you read down to this!! i really appreciate it a lot.


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